[92SofttailRider]

i have a 92 softail. bike is completly dead, new battery no change. if i hook up jumper cables to the bike all the lights come on. un hook them all is dead. tried with the old battery and the new one no change. jumper cables and no battery, lights come on but not enough to turn bike over. have traced wires dont see any shorts. any ideas.

 

[92SofttailRider]

i just tested for an open ground by removing the negative terminal and putting a test light between the terminal and a good ground. with the ignition switch off there is no light. but with the switch on there is a faint light. where are the most likely sources for a ground. i read another article about the solenoid on the starter having an internal ground. is this possible and if so how hard is it to clean the terminals on the inside of the solenoid.

 

[92SofttailRider]

have checked all of the connections, good. battery is good. started to check wires for shorts. still trying to find the problem. there is an electrical gremlin preventing me from riding. will post any new info as i find out what i am dealing with.

 

[vlade]

A chance one of your cables is broken or corroded to the point of extreme resistance inside the insulation or under the crimped lugs?

 

[92SofttailRider]

had the battery load tested. it failed. bought a new battey tried it, no change. took it back and had it load tested, it failed. now the guy at the shop says it is a problem with my bike and he wont do anything about the battery. his was on the bike for 5 min and load tested worse than the one that has been on there for the last year. think i got a bogus battery from the guy and he is trying to screw me. am buying a new battery from another source. what is better a gel cell or a servicable battery?

 

[Badassbrutus]

I belive the gel batterys have more cca than a acid battery all the one I have do...

 

[Kainam]

A battery tender is a must have item IMO.

Dave, for future reference, what gell battery do you use?

Last time I needed a battery, I looked for a gell battery but could not find one locally, so I went with a Yuasa AGM battery (the best AGM available through my research with 310CCA).

 

[Kainam]

Actually the "maintenance free" batteries that Harley and Yuasa sells now are AGM (Absorbed Glass Matt). AGM batteries offer the advantages of gell batteries (leak resistance) without the sensitivity to charging conditions that gell batteries have.

AGM: The Absorbed Glass Matt construction allows the electrolyte to be suspended in close proximity with the plates active material. In theory, this enhances both the discharge and recharge efficiency.

GEL: The gel cell is similar to the AGM style because the electrolyte is suspended, but different because technically the AGM battery is still considered to be a wet cell. The electrolyte in a GEL cell has a silica additive that causes it to set up like Jello. The recharge voltages on this type of cell are lower than the other styles of lead acid battery. This is probably the most sensitive cell in terms of adverse reactions to over-voltage charging. If the incorrect battery charger is used on a Gel Cell battery poor performance and premature failure is certain.

 

[92SofttailRider]

bought a new battery today. am going to install it tonight and see if that fixes the problem. will post any updates if that actually fixes the problem.

 

[92SofttailRider]

The new battery seems to have done the trick. i turned the ignition switch on and and heard a crackling fromt the wires going to the start switch. then a breaker tripped on the bike. I think when i was trying to trouble shoot the problem before i may have broken a wire. i fixed some stuff in there before and when i put it bactogether i think i pinched a wire. will fix it when i get home tonight.